


Aren't you just sitting there in the cage? Aren't you lonely?

by saintmichael



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Cagefic, M/M, s15 compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:02:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25375861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintmichael/pseuds/saintmichael
Summary: When Michael ends up trapped in Lucifer's Cage, he finds it stressful that he doesn't know the reason why. With his workload forcibly lightened, he focuses on the two things he can do: protect the vessel that served him without issue, and try to avoid going mad.
Relationships: Michael/Adam Milligan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 115





	Aren't you just sitting there in the cage? Aren't you lonely?

The Cage was cold, and dark, and unfeeling. It was nothing new to Michael. When he was growing up, that had been all of Existence. In fact, the constant light and activity in Heaven often irritated him to the point of finding some hole in the universe to calm down in, much to his brothers’ annoyance.

Adam was a flower that bloomed in sunlight. Michael had taken in a surface-level understanding of the vessel’s memories when he had entered him and knew that the boy possessed more weak spots in regards to this sort of place than the average human might. Michael would protect him.

Michael protected all of his vessels, of course, but usually from himself. The damage done to a vessel’s soul by possession was easily avoided by expending some of his own energy to create an extra barrier between the soul and his grace. This would mute their connection somewhat; without the grace being able to directly react with the soul, the angel would be less powerful. This was not generally an issue for Michael, although he did wish he had his true vessel for the fight with Lucifer, and not need to make a barrier. Still, Michael had an army of angels behind him, whereas Lucifer had mere demons. So Michael had no need to break from his usual obligations to his vessel.

Adam was an unusually obedient vessel, submissive in ways that confused the archangel. When they had met, after the unfortunate results of the scheming of the seraphim, Michael intended to make sure Adam’s soul was healthy and then return him straight to his Heaven, and then pursue his true vessel directly. But somehow, they had wound up talking, And, indeed, it had seemed more prudent to take a vessel sooner rather than later, and Adam had been sure Dean wasn’t going to say yes any time soon, but Adam was willing. It wasn’t Father’s plan, but it would be irresponsible of Michael to continue to mess around with Dean while Lucifer’s demons were destroying the Earth. It was just that Michael couldn’t remember if those were his own thoughts, or if Adam had suggested it to him. Regardless, Adam had said Yes to Michael, and he had a duty to protect him.

In the Cage, that duty took a higher priority. Michael was unable to execute Lucifer in the cage; there was a kind of stasis in there, so neither of them could perish. Unable to perform his primary mission, Michael retreated to a corner of the Cage. Interaction with Lucifer could lead to Michael’s corruption, so he avoided it at all costs. His ex-brother eventually realised that Michael would not engage with him, and stayed away, tormenting his own vessel instead. Michael was not concerned about the well-being of the person that had said Yes to the devil and had also prevented the Apocalypse from happening, thus forcing billions of humans to continue living in misery on Earth. He devoted his care and attention to himself and Adam.

Adam was a simpler issue. The boy was already sleeping quietly in Michael’s grace. Michael knew that human minds were very delicate, and Adam already had traumas. If his vessel happened to wake up and experience their current situation, he would become even more traumatised. Michael expended more of his energy to increase the barrier around Adam’s soul, and wove dreams and fantasies through it, capturing the child’s attention.

The biggest problem for Michael was Michael. When Adam was safely tucked away, and Lucifer had stopped bothering him, Michael had nothing else to do but reflect upon his own failures. 

He was uncertain about what had happened, and he _loathed_ that. What had gone wrong? Was he being punished for something? Or was all this just some accident, and he had been left there to rot because no one cared about him? Michael wouldn’t mind if he was being imprisoned because of a crime, he just wanted to know _what crime_. Was Father punishing him for some incorrect action done in the ten-odd millennia he had been running Heaven, or was it because he handled the Apocalypse incorrectly? The possibility that Father had decided to stick him in the Cage with Lucifer because he had taken the wrong vessel, or acted at the wrong time, horrified him. How could anything he had done possibly compare with the torture of human souls? But if he was here due to his own sheer incompetence, as opposed to Father’s plans, that was even worse. How many were suffering on Earth right now because of him? And neither his brother, nor his subordinates were trying to save him, or even contact him. It should be simple enough for Raphael to reach him, but impossible for Michael to do from inside the Cage. He had worked so hard to keep the universe running smoothly during his Father’s absence and now that he was gone it seemed nobody cared.

Michael’s mind was filled with questions and he hated that. Michael preferred to not have to think about things. But the only consistency with the questions was one answer. His fault. His fault. His fault.

Michael beat himself up for months, absolutely miserable and furious with himself. But he one day decided to go visit Adam in his dreams. He told himself it was just to make sure everything was running smoothly, even though he knew it was because he selfishly wanted to escape his own thoughts for a moment.

Adam was currently a cowboy riding around the countryside. Michael didn’t have much experience on Earth; he had banned angel travel to Earth several millennia ago and tried to stick to his own rules as much as possible. But it was easy enough to read novels and watch movies in his office in Heaven, so he had based these dreams on that knowledge. Adam looked like he was having fun riding the horse; Michael had of course removed the weapons and villains that were in the movie he had based this dream upon. Adam was only a child after all.

Michael smiled and watched, thinking to himself perhaps it would be alright to stay here and give his weary mind a rest. Adam slowed the horse down and guided it around to walk in another direction. Michael was puzzled until he realised that the kid was going straight towards him. Ah. He hadn’t meant to disturb his vessel with his presence.

“Hey!” said Adam, stopping the horse in front of Michael. He proceeded to try and struggle to get off the horse. Michael reluctantly manifested a human form and came over to assist him. Adam grinned at him, and Michael’s discomfort increased.

“I thought you said I would just be in a deep sleep while you were possessing me?” Michael hesitated and Adam quickly added, “This dream stuff is cool though, no complaints. Just wondering.”

Michael was against dishonesty, but he did not want to upset his vessel by telling him that Michael had fucked up the Apocalypse, and now they were trapped in the Cage with no prospect of escape. He tried to construct a gentler story for the boy, but Adam clearly saw him struggling, and frowned.

“What happened?” Adam asked more bluntly. “Is… it over?”

Michael _didn’t know_ if it was over or not. For all he knew angels and demons could be fighting on the Earth right now and tearing it to shreds. He wished Raphael could hear his desperate prayers for contact and come talk to him.

“Adam, we,” Michael began, and stopped, rethinking it. “My possession of you is still ongoing, longer than anticipated. Were I to keep you in a deep sleep for a prolonged period of time, your soul would grow restless. So I moved you to a dream state for your comfort.” That sounded good. And was perfectly true.

“Longer…?” Adam said, biting his lip. “So things are going badly then?” That was a bit of an understatement, but Michael really didn’t know how to respond. Adam moved closer to him, and stared him down with large doe eyes. “Please tell me,” Adam said, far too sweetly, and Michael could feel himself succumbing, like he had the first time he spoke to Adam Milligan.

“Adam, I…” _Need to focus. No point upsetting my vessel. He’s done nothing wrong. “_ Will update you as the situation permits.” Adam pulled his mouth to the side of his face, in some kind of expression of discontent, but Michael wasn’t sure what else he could say.

“Are you in the middle of a battle right now?” Adam asked. Michael blinked with surprise at that one.

“No, of course not,” he said. “That would be extremely reckless. We are both safe at present, I assure you.” Despite the fact that Satan was currently sitting in the corner opposite them. “I came to check on your well-being, that’s all. Has everything been all right?” Michael was fairly certain he had kept Adam completely unconscious when his body was set on fire, but given the rest of his performance that day, who could really say?

“Yeah,” Adam said. 

“Good,” Michael said, and then he felt a little awkward as he stood there. Adam looked so, so… helpless. So dependent. And Michael was failing him, every second.

“Did you… want to hang out, then?” Adam asked, looking lost. 

“I shouldn’t,” Michael said reluctantly. He didn’t want to ruin his vessel’s dreams by lurking around in them, even though it would be more enjoyable on his end. If Father was punishing him, he should suffer the punishment properly. But then what if this wasn’t a punishment from Father? What would the point be?

He stood there, paralysed by indecision, until Adam grabbed at him nervously. “Are you okay? Michael.” He sounded scared. Michael blinked at him.

“Yes?” 

“Um,” said Adam, and pointed up at the clear blue sky, which currently had portions flickering in and out of blackness. Michael frowned at them and refocused his grace, and the dream returned to a more orderly state.

“My apologies, Adam,” said Michael. “I will take my leave.”

Adam opened his mouth as if to say something, but Michael quickly returned to consciousness in order to avoid any further embarrassment. Lucifer had paused from his cruel designs and was peering at his older brother with curiosity. When Michael noticed him, he smiled widely and said, “ _Age taking its toll, brother?_ ”

Michael ignored him.

A couple of weeks later, he heard his vessel attempting to call out to him from within his soul. It took him by surprise and he started a little, before panicking that Adam had awakened and was experiencing the Cage beyond Michael’s control. He felt within the boy’s soul and found that he was still asleep, simply calling for Michael inside the dream. Worried that the dream had become unfocused again, he slipped inside once more.

Adam was sitting inside the Voltaire, the fancy restaurant from _Pretty Woman_. He had a plate full of food in front of him that looked untouched; Michael wasn’t surprised as he was terrible at simulating taste. Adam looked up and smiled softly at him. “Hey, you came,” he greeted. “And you even wore a suit.”

Michael glanced down and back at Adam, confused. Michael had simply copied Adam’s appearance, including his clothes, which were currently a suit. “Yes,” he agreed. Adam’s grin broadened, reminding Michael of Lucifer’s but, Lucifer had the cold eyes of a predator, whereas Adam’s expression was full of warmth and genuine amusement.

“So you, uh, you aren’t busy?” Adam said, and gestured at the seat. “I wasn’t expecting you to get here that quickly.”

“I am not busy, no,” Michael said, and hesitated once more. His dishonesty with his vessel had been troubling him for the last couple of weeks. Adam should be made aware of their situation. “Adam, I…’

“Sit,” Adam pleaded, and Michael obediently sat.

“Adam, I was unsure as to whether I should disclose this information to you, but, we are not currently in a position where I would be ‘busy’.”

“Uh,” Adam said. “Okay, and what does that mean? The battle’s over already?”

“We are not currently engaged in the Apocalypse,” Michael said, “And that is all I know of the situation on Earth. There is a Cage in Hell that Father built several millennia ago to imprison Lucifer until the Apocalypse began. Both Lucifer and I are now trapped here. With our vessels.” 

Hmm. Perhaps revealing this wasn’t the best idea. The boy looked quite frightened. Michael patted him on the hand as soothingly as he could and contemplated erasing his memories of the last five minutes.

“We are in no danger,” Michael added thoughtfully. “No one can be harmed in this space.” Adam did relax a little at that.

“Oh. So - so it’s like a time-out square?” Adam asked. Michael curiously searched Adam’s mind for knowledge of a ‘time-out square’ and found a punishment inflicted on children at Adam’s elementary school where they were told to sit in squares marked on the ground and not interact with others.

“It is a prison, yes,” Michael said, but he did not quite agree that it was an appropriate comparison. “I believe Father did not want Lucifer to get ill while he was undertaking his punishment. So he made it a static space.”

“Right,” Adam said. “So how did we end up here exactly?”

“You are here because of me,” Michael made clear. “I am here because I saw Lucifer jumping into a vortex and tried to pull him out.” And failed, but he could not say it out loud. Adam would understand, anyway.

“It was a plan of his vessel’s, to trap him,” explained Michael. “I am not sure if I was an intended victim of the trap, or not.” 

Adam was looking down at his plate full of food. “Who was the vessel?” he said quietly.

“Ah - you know him. Sam Winchester. Your half brother?” Adam nodded without looking up.

“Perhaps I will delete this from your memory,” Michael mused out loud. “Upsetting you wasn’t my attention.” That got Adam’s attention. He fixed Michael with a sharp glare.

“No - don’t. Please.” He sounded both pitiful and demanding at once. “You - do you delete things from my memory a lot?” 

That was a strange question. Michael cocked his head in confusion. “Do you want me to?”

“No!” the boy said, more forcefully.

Michael nodded and said, “I would not remove a memory without your consent. As my vessel, you have the right to evict me from your body at any time.” He had mentioned this when he had originally possessed him, but perhaps Adam had forgotten. “Removing a memory without your knowledge interferes with the consent necessary for our relationship.”

“You - right. So you _can’t_ do it?” Adam asked.

“Morally, no.”

Adam paused. “But you like, physically can do it? Without being automatically removed from me or something.”

“I would never,” Michael declared. “But the physical rules surrounding consent are not at all stringent, no. You just need an initial yes, basically. But should you wish me to go, I will.”

“But we’re in the Cage at the moment. So that won’t work out too well for me, will it?”

Oh. “Adam, I didn’t come in here as a coercive measure.” Adam looked surprised.

“No, I didn’t think - you - _Michael_.” Adam covered his face with his hands and laughed. Michael smiled. That seemed like a good sign.

“Okay, so we’re trapped down here? Is anyone coming to get us?”

Michael said, “I do not know. No one has made contact with me. I have no idea what is going on outside the walls of the Cage.”

“Oh,” Adam said, and held Michael’s hands in his. Michael looked down at them curiously. “Well, you’ll let me know, right? What’s happening.”

“Of course,” Michael said. He stood up to go, but Adam said,

“Hey, wait. Uh, I wanted to ask you something.”

Oh, yes. Adam had summoned him here. He sat back down again.

“Um, there’s been some patchiness, like the other time you came. I thought maybe it was happening when you were fighting, but I guess that can’t be right?” Adam said. 

Patchiness? Michael investigated Adam’s memories and realised he meant parts of the dreams had been glitching. 

“I’m sorry, Adam. I have been lacking discipline since my imprisonment. I will make sure to keep the dream running smoothly from now on.” Michael made sure to keep his composure, despite wanting to berate himself for such a simple error. No wonder Adam seemed so nervous. It must be terrifying to see parts of the world vanish at random, especially for a mortal.

“Thanks,” Adam said. “Um, if you need to switch me off or something for a bit, that’s cool too.” 

“Switch you off?” Michael said, puzzled. “Adam, you can’t die here.”

“Right,” said Adam. “No, like the deep sleep. If it’s an effort for you to keep this dream going.”

“No, there is no effort,” Michael said. “It’s simply because my emotions are fluctuating, my grace is responding in kind and that is having an impact on the dream. I will make sure to separate the two from now on.”

“Oh.” Adam still looked worried. “You’re not like, low on grace or something? From being locked up?”

It was unkind of Michael to keep forgetting Adam knew almost nothing about him. He may as well explain; it wasn’t like he had anything else to do.

“No. In fact I currently have an abundance of grace, as I am unable to use it up as I normally do. You have an understanding of grace from lesser angels, who receive replenishment externally from Heaven. I produce grace internally.” 

“‘Lesser angels?’“ 

“The seraphim, and malakhim and such,” Michael explained. Adam seemed dissatisfied, so Michael added, “They exist in less dimensions than my brothers and I. So they are inferior in many ways.”

“Cool,” Adam muttered. Michael wondered if he had said something offensive. Adam was suddenly a lot less sweeter than before.

“So no need to worry about me,” Michael said, getting up once more. “Do let me know if there are further troubles with the dream. I will, er, let you know should there be a further development.”

“Um,” Adam said. “Do you not want to stay here? With me.” Michael stared at him quizzically. “Aren’t you just sitting in the Cage? Aren’t you lonely?”

“I built this dream for you,” Michael said, not understanding. “For your enjoyment. A mini-heaven while we’re stuck here.”

“There are lots of different places here though,” Adam argued. “We’ll just find one you like.” Michael was not sure why the child was suddenly being so combative with him.

“I am familiar with the contents,” Michael said, “But I cannot be here and be conscious at the same time. In order to be awake and ready for changes to our situation, I cannot keep you company.” Adam was scowling at the table. “If you would permit it, I would visit you like this,” Michael added. “I may not deserve it, but your company is very pleasing.”

Adam relaxed a little. “Really? Even though I’m lesser?”

Ah. Adam was interpreting this as an insult. Michael wondered how he could say this without putting his foot in his mouth. “Being a lesser being does not mean you are worth less. It simply means you are small.”

Adam grinned, and Michael felt an unfamiliar warmth bloom in his core.

He sadly returned to consciousness and continued to await his future in the Cage. Lucifer had grown more and more obsessed with tormenting his vessel, and barely spoke a word to Michael in the years that followed. Michael was not upset about it, but he did perhaps wonder if he had missed an opportunity to talk his ex-brother back into sanity. If it was even possible, surely this would have been the time and place? But Michael had been too absorbed in his own misery to even consider it.

He recalled the last conversation he’d had with his Father before his disappearance. Papa had scolded Michael for how terribly things had turned out. Michael had still been hurting from the final battle, emotionally as well as physically, but Papa was relentless. _It’s your fault_ , he’d said coldly. _Helael is your little brother. Your responsibility. How could you let him turn out like this?_

He told Adam about it, during one of his visits. The little boy was fairly inquisitive and would probe Michael for all kinds of information about him and his life whenever they had the chance to talk. Adam had shaken his head in disbelief. “How does that even make sense?” he demanded. “Lucifer’s an adult, right? And even if he wasn’t, why is it the older brother’s responsibility more than the father’s?”

This line of questioning seemed disrespectful to Father, so Michael had shut it down immediately. “It makes sense because Father said it,” he told Adam. “You shouldn’t say such things.” Michael didn’t want to talk about Father too much to Adam, because he always seemed to present him in a bad light. He wasn’t trying to, and the idea upset him, so he usually avoided the topic. He changed the subject by telling Adam about when he and Gabriel had found Raphael’s diary, and it seemed to work.

Time was distorted in Hell, Michael knew, and it was worse the further down you went. The Cage was at the very bottom of the Pit, so it was difficult for him to keep track of time at all. As Michael was a very orderly person, this bothered him to no end. Without Adam’s company, he may well have gone insane. Or worse, become desperate enough to talk to Lucifer and become corrupted into one of his minions. 

It seemed decades had passed by the time something finally changed in the Cage, but for all Michael knew it could have been minutes. Or millennia. However long it had been, someone approached the Cage, on Lucifer’s side. He rose to meet their guest, and Michael quietly moved to the side for a better vantage point. The Reaper was there, saying something to Satan, whose cordiality was quickly turning to fury. Death was undeterred, and pushed his bony claws inside the Cage - inside Lucifer, who shrieked with pain and anger - and forcefully withdrew something from his clenched-up grace. The Reaper then fled, while Lucifer howled at his back.

Michael watched this exchange with bafflement. Hadn’t Death been bound by Lucifer? How had he become unbound? Their recent fall into the Cage shouldn’t have broken those chains. Nonetheless, unless Lucifer had become an excellent actor all of a sudden, the Reaper’s defiance had been genuine. 

Michael wondered if he should say anything to his ex-brother, but before he could act, Lucifer turned and screamed at him, flying and diving down at him in an inelegant attempt to take him down. Taken by surprise, Michael didn’t think to dodge and the two of them crashed into the wall behind. Satan began tearing into him but in a purely physical competition Michael had a clear advantage over the petite Morningstar and flung him off, throwing him into the opposite wall of the Cage. 

Michael stood up, extending his form warily, looking down at Lucifer from across the Cage. Lucifer wasn’t usually one for brawling, but Michael was more than happy to use up some of his surplus energy if he really wanted to get into it. Lucifer seemed to have come to his senses, though, and grumpily sat back down, inspecting himself. 

It was at this point that Michael realised what Death must have taken from Lucifer - his plaything. His vessel. He instinctively wrapped Adam in even more grace and warily turned to the walls of the Cage, scanning the outside for any sign of a mischievous Reaper. But he was gone, apparently content with only Sam Winchester’s soul. 

Michael waited a few weeks before visiting Adam with this news, keeping a constant eye on Lucifer. His ex-brother would occasionally meet his gaze, smiling thinly but with far less confidence than before. Michael wondered how much damage he had received when Death had reached into him like that. The Cage should prevent injuries, but the Reaper had been crossing the threshold at the time, and may have weakened the stasis field by doing so. When it seemed certain that Lucifer wouldn’t attack him again, Michael went to go update Adam.

Adam was at some fancy party that Michael had stolen from Gossip Girl. He was drinking wine and chatting up some of the characters. He was dressed inappropriately, though, in a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts. Michael had learned by now that this was part of Adam’s sense of humour. The characters didn’t notice how out of place Adam was, which was the funny part apparently. Even funnier, however, was that Michael, as ever, simply copied Adam’s current appearance and approached him in the silly clothes. When Adam noticed him, his face immediately split into a big smile.

“Hey, your Highness,” Adam said happily. “Just got back from the beach?”

“Adam, I’m wearing what you’re wearing,” Michael said, and Adam’s clothes shifted to a black-tie outfit. 

Adam said, “Are you?” and laughed. 

“That was very well done, Adam,” Michael said proudly. He had been teaching the little boy how to have proper control over his own soul-space, as well as other things. Adam was a good student and a joy to teach, even if he made fun of Michael sometimes. Adam deflated a little at the compliment, as that wasn’t the reaction he wanted, but his eyes were still beaming.

“Actually, I have some news,” Michael told him. 

Adam nodded and said, “Huh?” as if his brain didn’t quite process this. 

“As in, something happened in the Cage,” Michael clarified, and Adam stilled. Michael explained what happened with Satan and Death as his vessel listened in stunned silence.

“Is… it coming for me too?” Adam asked. There was a strange tone in his voice. Michael assumed it was fear.

“No, of course not,” he soothed the child. “If it does, I’ll protect you.” He smoothed Adam’s hair over with his fingers. He didn’t relax into the touch like usual, however.

“Protect? Wait, you… you think it’s going to hurt us?” He pulled back and examined Michael’s face. “It wasn’t a rescue?”

A rescue? Well, Lucifer had been hurting his vessel. Michael supposed it had been a rescue of sorts. “Perhaps,” he admitted. “Death is a mysterious actor. I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to his purpose. That vessel may very well be out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

“Oh,” said Adam, disappointed, and Michael realised he had been hopeful, not fearful. 

“You want to be out of here,” he guessed. 

“No,” Adam said, “I… well, yes, but. I hope he’s okay.” Compassion, Michael understood. His sweet young vessel had many such strengths. Michael’s heart was too old and shrivelled for such a feeling.

The hope of a rescue for Michael grew smaller and smaller every day. He never really expected his Father to come save him. “God helps those who help themselves”, Adam said once, and Michael smiled and agreed. He still wasn’t even sure if he was here as a result of some kind of punishment. The fact that Raphael or the other angels didn’t lead a rescue were leaning more to that option. If this was Father’s doing, of course he’d prevent Michael’s early release. And if something had happened to Raphael, Michael would have known.

And when it happened, he _did_ know.

He was inside Adam’s soul at the time, teaching the boy some runes, when a sharp pain ripped through his core, like something was being torn out of it. Panicking, he surged back to consciousness, a worried “Michael?” from Adam barely reaching his ears, and he pulled himself into a battle stance, searching for his attacker. Lucifer… was still on the other side of the Cage, gasping and clutching at his core, looking as pained as Michael felt. They locked eyes with one another and _knew_.

Raphael was dead. 

Their little brother was dead. Murdered. Had to have been. Quiet, hardworking Raphael who was always light years ahead of his stupid older brothers. It was unforgivable.

The two archangels, who up until that point had been sitting patiently, were driven into a desperate frenzy. Michael hurled himself into the walls of the Cage in a futile attempt to break them down, while Lucifer scrabbled at the floor looking for a weak spot, a loop hole, something to just get them out of there.

“ _Fuck!”_ Michael yelled at his brother. His body was intact because of the stasis field, so he could keep throwing himself at the walls for as long as he liked. “ _They’re killing our kin! Helael! Fucking do something! They’ll get Gabriel too!”_

Lucifer snarled as he crawled across the floor, scratching at it with his claws. “ _Gabriel is - but it didn’t feel like this! Why?! My brother!”_

 _“Why didn’t you protect them?!”_ Michael snapped irrationally. It was more at himself than Lucifer. “ _Someone murdered my baby brother!”_

Their rage lasted for months, years. Michael had no idea. Their desperate attempts to get out of the Cage never got saner or more likely to succeed. Just sadder and angrier. Michael was only pulled out of his frenzy when he finally heard a tiny voice sobbing inside of him. 

“Michael, please! Can you hear me! Come help!”

He pulled himself away from his enemy, the walls of the Cage, and sat in the middle of the Cage. He noticed Lucifer had collapsed in a corner, probably some time ago, passed out from exhaustion.

The voice. Adam. Oh no. He dug inside his grace to inspect Adam’s soul, but he already knew what happened. As soon as he lost control of himself, he lost control of the dream as well, and it had turned into a nightmare. Huge parts of the world was missing, just blank spaces in the sky and all around him, and everything was not as it should be. Rivers had become rows of giant spikes, phones were corn cobs, the counter at a cafe had become a crocodile. There was too much mess to straighten out quickly, so Michael erased the entire world except for the little shed Adam was hiding in, crying and terrified out of his mind. Then he put something around it - he - he needed something - he grabbed the field from _The Sound of Music_ and placed the shed in the middle of it, and jumped inside the dream.

He knocked on the door. “Adam?” He was so tired. Why had he hurt the one person he _was_ able to protect?

The door slowly creaked open and a tear-stained pair of eyes peeked out at him. “Michael? Is that you?”

“Yes, Adam. Can you come outside, please? It’s safe here now.”

The door opened all the way and Adam staggered out, clinging onto Michael tightly. “You came,” he croaked, weeping into Michael’s shoulder. “I - I thought -”

 _“_ I know,” said Michael. “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t enough, but he didn’t know what else to say, or do. Adam just held on to him, crying. Michael looked around in Adam’s memories to find something to calm him down. He found several when Adam was a small child and was upset, his mother had him do some colouring-in to calm down. Michael manifested a colouring-in book and pencils and handed it to Adam. He stared at it blankly.

“Please do this activity, Adam,” Michael said politely. Adam did nothing. Michael wondered if perhaps he did not recognise the colouring-in book. He manifested one for himself and began to colour it in himself, to lead by example. He heard choked up laughter and looked up to see Adam’s baffled face peering at his book.

“What - what are you doing?” Adam asked, bewildered. 

“We are doing some colouring-in, to calm down,” Michael explained, and indicated the book he’d produced for Adam. Adam glanced at it before looking back at Michael.

“I - I don’t understand what’s going on,” he said. Michael stroked his hair.

“That’s okay. Let’s just colour-in, okay?” He did some more himself. “I’ve never done this activity before, but it’s quite enjoyable.” He continued to scribble on the pages and after a few minutes, Adam silently joined in. He was now emanating waves of confusion rather than total fear, which Michael supposed was better even if not the intended result.

This activity was indeed quite soothing. Archangels rarely truly slept, but Michael found himself nodding off. When he woke up, his head was in his vessel’s lap, who was staring down at him with concern.

“Michael?” Adam asked, his voice breaking a little bit.

“Good morning, Adam,” Michael said as he sat up. 

“Is everything okay? You’re not, um,” Adam bit his lip. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am fine. I apologise for your experience earlier, Adam. I should have put you into deep sleep the moment I was not of sound mind.” Michael paused. That didn’t quite work. “Or perhaps given you the means to shut the dream down yourself.”

“That’s okay,” Adam mumbled. “It was only for a couple of days.”

Only a couple of-? That couldn’t be right. There was a small time distortion between Adam’s soul and the Cage, but it wasn’t that severe. Michael had been out of control for years. He frowned at Adam.

“You don’t need to lie to protect my feelings,” he reminded him. Humans believed in ‘white lies’, but Michael despised them. They were a slippery slope to chaos. He needed to know the truth in order to perform his duty.

“I’m not lying,” Adam protested. “It - it’s slowly been getting bad for a long time, and I knew something was really wrong cause you stopped showing up, even when I begged. But it’s only been crazy these last couple of days. I promise.”

Hmm. Adam didn’t normally lie when he ‘promised’. Still, Michael inspected his vessel’s soul to verify, and was relieved to find he was telling the truth. 

“I’m glad to hear it, but I’m still sorry,” he said. “I should have had a contingency plan in place for if something like this occurred. But…”

“But what?” Adam pressed, squeezing his arm.

“I haven’t lost control like that for a long time,” Michael said, gazing straight ahead at the hills in the distance. “I would never have expected it.”

“What happened?” Being trapped in a nightmare for two days hadn’t dampened Adam’s eternal curiosity, it seemed.

“My younger brother died.” Adam squeezed even tighter. “Raphael. He must have been killed. Murdered.”

Just by saying it he could feel the rage bubbling up inside of him, but he kept it clamped down. That absolutely could not happen again.

“ _I’m sorry_ ,” Adam whispered in Enochian, resting his forehead on Michael’s as he looked him in the eyes. His pronunciation was a little off, but Michael didn’t have the heart to correct him at the moment. “Don’t be afraid to cry if you need to. It’s okay.”

Michael trembled, trapped underneath Adam’s soft, sympathetic gaze. “I’m not afraid. I’m strong.” He clenched his fist. _Not strong enough_.

“ _Mikhael_ ,” Adam murmured. There was no escape for Michael from those sweet blue eyes. “ _It’s not your fault.”_

Michael cried.

They both needed to rest, to recover. Michael had had no idea being in a Cage could be so exhausting. He stayed in Adam’s soul. There was no point staying awake. Consciousness only ever brought them misery. He simulated Adam’s childhood home for them to stay in. A solid, stable memory, built over nineteen years.

He simulated Adam’s mother, Kate, from the same stockpile of memories. Not around Adam; it was too uncanny valley for him, but Michael enjoyed having a parent around while he was feeling down. Since Father clearly wasn’t planning on showing up any time soon. Kate Milligan reminded him of his Father from when Michael was very small, although sometimes he did wonder if he was viewing those memories with rose-coloured glasses. He was still afraid to bring the topic up around Adam, whose judgement was strong and fast.

They stayed in the Milligan house for a long time. Michael was hurting badly and he did enjoy the place. He hadn’t lost anyone like this since… well, ever. When Lucifer had fallen, Michael did treat it as his death, funeral and all. But their bond had become only tattered, not completely destroyed like Raphael’s was. He felt so empty now that one of his kin was gone. He would lay on Adam’s bed, moping all day, while Adam went out and did fun things.

Adam was able to control his soul space pretty well now. That’s how he had survived Michael’s constructed dream from collapsing all at once, he told Michael. He had simply taken over. Michael was so proud. “The student has become the master,” he said happily. Adam rolled his eyes.

“What’s your obsession with movies?” he asked. 

Michael responded, “They make me feel things. That’s rare, at my age.”

Adam scoffed. “You feel things all the time.”

“Yes,” Michael agreed, smiling. “Ever since I met you. So you can guess another of my obsessions.”

Adam blushed and looked away.

Michael was starting to realise that Adam was more to him than a vessel. He was his friend. Michael hadn’t made a friend in thirteen billion years. Of course, the fact that they needed to be trapped in a Cage together for their friendship to develop didn’t slip his notice. But Adam never mentioned it, so neither did Michael. Circumstance was the cause of everything, after all.

Adam finally pulled Michael out of bed one day promising to show him something cool. Michael couldn’t say no to the boy and followed him with mild interest. 

It was a dream Adam had built. “Space Car,” he told Michael. He had learned from Michael that it was easier to simulate stuff you’d seen rather than build something entirely out of your imagination. So he’d put together his memories of driving a car with Michael’s memories of flying through the cosmos. Michael was impressed, but he found the logic of how the car could possibly be moving to be distracting from the dream. 

“What are the tires spinning on, to push the car forward?” he kept asking Adam, who in turn kept pinching his forehead and sighing. He was mostly teasing, but his frustration was genuine.

Teasing was something he had learned from Adam. It was where you did something to bother the person you love, but not so bad that it actually upsets them. Adam said that Michael was very hard to tease, because he glanced off most things that bothered him, or didn’t make sense. It made Michael wonder if younger brothers had teased him in the past, and he’d simply not noticed.

Adam did not feel like a younger brother, though. It was strange. As years and decades flew past, he seemed less and less like a child as well. He was so eager to suck up all the knowledge Michael had to give, and he learned it so quickly and thoroughly. Michael took him to all the places he’d ever been, in their little dream world, both wondrous and disastrous. Adam always took the part of a student, not a tourist, and studied them all with interest.

“This is where you grew up?” he asked, at the simulation of Father’s Palace. “It’s pretty fancy.”

“No,” Michael said, “Father was only able to construct things as large as this once the Darkness was sealed away. I grew up, erm, inside Father.”

“Oh,” Adam said, nodding. The vessel had long become accustomed to Michael’s strange history. Michael did miss his gaping looks of shock a little. “Like, inside his womb?”

“No,” Michael said hesitantly. “He would wrap us in his own Grace, to prevent the Darkness from consuming us as it did everything else. Like you are currently wrapped in my grace.”

“Gotcha,” Adam said, and he scribbled it down in one of his many notebooks. “Oh, uh, do you wanna go check?” he asked Michael. Since Raphael’s passing, Michael grew reluctant to leave Adam’s soul to check on the real world. Adam started having to get him to go check if there had been any changes, once in a while.

There weren’t any. Well, none that mattered. Lucifer started calling out to him whenever he woke up, sounding worried. Michael always just ignored him and returned to Adam. It was easier that way. 

And then Lucifer would be beside him whenever he woke up. Grooming his wings, cleaning off his grace, or simply resting his head in his lap. It pissed Michael off, and he would always pointedly get up and move to the other side of the cage before going back to Adam. But Lucifer would always be there again the next time he woke up. 

“ _Mikha, please_ ,” he begged, once. “ _Please don’t leave me. Not like this.”_ Michael ignored him as per usual.

And one day Michael woke up, and Lucifer was gone. Still alive - Michael checked their frayed bond to make sure of that. But gone from the Cage.

There were cracks in the Cage, but none large enough for Lucifer to have slipped through. The Cage didn’t seem to have been opened. And yet Lucifer was gone. Michael couldn’t fathom it. He went and told Adam, of course.

“Huh,” Adam said. “We missed our window, huh,” he added wrly.

“I don’t think the Cage was opened,” Michael reminded him. “There must have been some hole in the Cage’s design. Or Father retrieved him personally.” The latter thought made him feel ill, but he could not dismiss it as a possibility. He wondered what crime he could have committed that would make him worse than Lucifer in Father’s eyes.

“Hmm,” said Adam. “Yeah. Maybe a real powerful spell, that slipped him out through some kind of loophole. There were cracks?” He tapped his fingers on his coffee mug thoughtfully. Adam was old now, for a human, despite looking the same as ever. With over half a millennium clocked in the Cage, Michael’s vessel had grown wise and serene. Michael felt young being near him, despite the obvious fact that Michael was still billions of years older. 

“Can you do anything with those?” Adam asked.

“They are not large enough to escape through -” 

“Nah,” said Adam, “I mean can _you_ do anything with them? Can you see through them?”

“Ah,” said Michael. “Yes, slightly.”

“Can you tell me what the date is?” Michael smiled. He and Adam were kindred spirits, truly. “March 13, 2016.” He’d already checked, of course.

“Beware the ides of March,” Adam said, but he was clearly taken aback. “It’s only 2016? Seriously?”

“The ides of March is the 15th,” Michael told him. Adam waved him off dismissively.

With Lucifer gone, Michael had hoped his short trips back to consciousness would be much less obnoxious, but the very next time he woke up, he had a letter on his lap. He read it with much trepidation.

“ _Michael, if you’re feeling better, pray to me at once. I have a job for you to do.”_

It wasn’t signed, but the handwriting was familiar enough. Lucifer would be able to forge Father’s writing, though. It was probably a trick by his escapee brother.

He did make sure to check what he could of Earth through the cracks, and it still seemed intact. So, Lucifer was playing pranks on his older brother now, rather than causing chaos. That was fine.

He told Adam about the letter, naturally. “You’re sure your dad didn’t write this?” Adam said.

“Father wouldn’t be so callous,” Michael explained. “It’s obviously a trick from Lucifer to hurt my feelings.”

“Right,” Adam said, sounding a little guarded. “Yeah. You’d better not pray to him, then.” 

Michael was glad Adam agreed.

Two centuries later, Michael felt Gabriel die.

It was - muted. Perhaps since he hadn’t seen Gabriel in millennia, their connection was weaker than his and Raphael’s. But regardless, the knowledge alone was enough to drive him to a howling wreck. 

He was a little less crazy about it this time, but he did bang on the walls of the Cage for a good few weeks. The cracks wouldn’t widen a single inch though. Michael hated looking at them. The thought of what would put a crack in Father’s perfect creation scared him to no end.

When he calmed down, he came straight to Adam’s lap. Adam looked down at him, concerned. “You okay?” he asked. “There’s a seat right here.” He patted the space on the couch next to him, but Michael shook his head.

“… _Gabriel’s dead_ ,” he explained quietly, and rested there.

It wasn’t too long later before he felt Lucifer go as well. It was still shocking enough to jerk him awake, but he didn’t get angry this time. He had prepared for Lucifer’s death when Father had announced his execution, all those millennia ago. And Michael knew he deserved it, no matter how much the idea upset Michael personally. So he was filled with a quiet sadness at the news instead.

“Lucifer, really?” Adam said. “I’m sorry, Michael.”

“You shouldn’t be sorry,” Michael said. “He did terrible things to your people.”

“My ‘people’?” Adam said, with some amusement, and Michael knew he would be mocked for that later. “That doesn’t matter though, sweetheart. I’m not sorry he’s dead. I’m sorry you’re hurting.”

…Michael knew. He wished he found it easier to accept Adam’s love. He was a slow learner, but he was trying.

He had gotten perhaps a little too used to life in the Cage. One day, when he woke up and saw that the door was wide open, he didn’t even think to leave. He just went and told Adam.

“What?” Adam said disbelievingly.

“The Cage is open,” Michael repeated.

“Like, wide open? We-can-fly-out open?”

“Yes.”

“Are we still in the Cage?” 

“Yes.”

“Why…?” 

“Ah.”

When they landed safely on Earth, Michael took them to a discreet location so they could try something out. In the Cage, Adam had mentioned that whenever they do make it out, he wanted to try sharing the body.

“It’ll be easier to hang out that way,” he explained. Michael accepted this explanation.

It turned out to be harder than they expected, though. Adam had been a docile, submissive vessel for so long that it was difficult for him to raise his consciousness to the surface, no matter how passive Michael was trying to be. 

Eventually, they figured that Adam had to practice being ‘awake’ for a while, so Michael reluctantly left his body completely so the human was no longer being pushed down by something. Adam suggested he go check on Heaven for the duration, but Michael declined, claiming he was concerned about Adam’s safety. But he was more concerned about the fact that he couldn’t sense a single other member in the Heavenly Host. He didn’t want to face whatever Heaven had become. So he just hung out near Adam, in a dimension adjacent to Earth.

When Adam had rebuilt some of his mental strength, Michael happily rejoined with his vessel, and they were pleased to see they could now switch, although they needed more practice to make it more fluid. 

“Very well, Adam,” Michael said. “We’re back on Earth. Where would you like to go? Your hometown?”

“Nah,” said Adam. “Let’s find somewhere to eat. Your food always tasted like shit.”


End file.
